The New York Yankees have made a notable change to their lineup heading into what could be their final game of the season. The Yankees, facing a 2-1 hole as part of their best-of-five American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, are sitting shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa in favor of rookie Oswaldo Cabrera. Cabrera's spot in left field, in turn, will be filled by switch-hitting veteran Aaron Hicks.
Here's a look at the Yankees lineup:
Kiner-Falefa had a rough Game 3, going 0 for 4 at the plate and making several defensive miscues. Afterward, he expressed frustration in his performance.
"I feel like I had an opportunity to come up with some key plays to help the team win and I didn't come up with them," Kiner-Falefa told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. "I feel like they were big runs that cost us the game tonight."
Kiner-Falefa has been a polarizing figure for the Yankees throughout the season. He hit just .261/.314/.327 (84 OPS+) with four home runs and 22 stolen bases in 142 games. The value of his defense, meanwhile, hinged on which metric was viewed. Kiner-Falefa notched 10 Defensive Runs Saved, according to Baseball Reference. Yet Statcast had him in the 19th percentile in Outs Above Average.
Wherever one lands on Kiner-Falefa's total value, positive or negative, the Yankees are betting on Cabrera being the better choice in Game 4.
Cabrera had a big Saturday night, homering and doubling in three trips to the plate. Cabrera appeared in 44 regular season games, amassing a .247/.312/.429 slash line (109 OPS+) while seeing action at six spots. It's worth noting that Cabrera has not played shortstop since Sept. 30, and he hasn't started at short since Aug. 28.
For those wondering, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had a 42 percent groundball rate during the regular season. The league-average rate among qualifiers was 44 percent, suggesting Cole is a touch less likely to coerce a grounder than the typical pitcher.
